Former FBI informant Smirnov pleads guilty to lying about Biden bribe

Driving the news: Smirnov also pleaded guilty to a tax evasion charge from a separate indictment accusing him of concealing millions of dollars of income, per the AP.

• His sentence will be set in January and is expected to be between four and six years.
• Smirnov must pay $675,502 in restitution, the New York Times reported on Thursday. He also agreed to pay $2.1 million in taxes and penalties for income earned between 2020 and 2022.

Context: Smirnov, previously a confidential source for the FBI, was charged in February with felony false statement and obstruction crimes.

• He claimed that officials with the Ukrainian energy company Burisma paid the president and his son $5 million each in 2015 or 2016. The "fabrications" began in June 2020, per an indictment.
• His identity wasn't known publicly before the indictment.

Flashback: In February, Hunter Biden denied involving his father in his business, including as a board member of Burisma.

• He blasted the impeachment inquiry into Biden, and Republicans failed to find evidence that the president ever benefitted from his son's international business dealings.

Go deeper: Hunter pardon reignites talk of rogue Biden impeachment push